Ablakwa reveals National Cathedral US registration address leads to ‘fraudulent’ location

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu has published international registration documents for Ghana’s National Cathedral project.

The lawmaker, who has been an avid critic of the project alleging waste of public funds and corporate governance breaches against the project has revealed new details about the project after a trip to the United States.

In a Facebook post dated May 2, the MP revealed that he had applied for and received registration documents of the project from the relevant US authorities.

He observed that there were only three persons listed as board members, one of which is the Executive Secretary of the project Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah and two others, who until date were in no way connected publicly with the project.

Ablakwa wondered why no member of the Board of Trustees back home, some of who are eminent clergyen respected even in the United States were absent from the documentation.

He added that checks at the Washington DC address provided as offices of the project showed that they did not and had never prior operated from the said facility.

“Articles of Incorporation we have secured from the District of Columbia Government’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (corporation’s division) confirm that a nonprofit corporation has been registered known as the “National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation, Inc.” (Articles of Incorporation duly attached).

“This National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation, Inc. received its Certificate of Incorporation with its effective date being May 3, 2021 and signed by Josef G. Gasimov, Superintendent of Corporations, Corporations Division. (See certificate attached).

“It is worthy of note that the name National Cathedral of Ghana and Museum Foundation, Inc. is unmistakably different from what was incorporated in Ghana some two years prior, specifically on the 18th of July, 2019 as the National Cathedral of Ghana.

“Curiously, we have also discovered that none of the prominent Ministers of the Gospel who serve as Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana feature in the articles of incorporation and list of governors as submitted to US authorities.

“The names of governors and authorized persons as contained in the Two-Year Report for Domestic & Foreign Filing Entity are: Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, Eric Okyere Darko and Dr. Vernon Darko. (See Report attached).

“In US corporate terms “governor” typically refers to a member of the board of directors,” Ablakwa’s post read in part.

What Ablakwa said about the US address:

Even more shocking, we have discovered that the address provided on both the “National” Cathedral of Ghana website and to US authorities as the official address of the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation, Inc. is absolutely fraudulent.

The advertised address is: National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation, Inc.
1090 Vermont AVE NW,
Washington, DC 20005.

“A personal visit to this address in Washington, DC and thorough verification from managers of the property indicate that the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation, Inc. has never been a tenant at that address.

“Indeed, none of the offices of the 12-floor apartment building has ever been occupied by the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation, Inc. or any agency representing this entity. The managers of the property were furious and clear that what was going on was simply criminal.”